


The Clover Guy

by niallhoranbitches



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Flower Shop & Tattoo Parlor, M/M, Meet-Cute, Niall works in a flower shop, and there's some swearing somewhere i guess?, didn't know i'll ever be using this tag ;'), harry's just briefly in that one, i'm sorry i cannot do otherwise, it's just ridiculousness and fluff basically, this is a bit ridiculous at first
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-03
Updated: 2018-02-03
Packaged: 2019-03-12 18:03:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,873
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13552698
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/niallhoranbitches/pseuds/niallhoranbitches
Summary: “Is everything ok?” the Clover Guy said. “It’s kinda rude to stare like that, ya know?”“No, sorry. ‘S just…” Zayn made a vague gesture towards the guy’s face, but that only made the latter’s eyebrow to go higher.With a giggle escaping his mouth, Zayn had finally said, “You have a big-ass clover on your forehead, mate.”





	The Clover Guy

**Author's Note:**

> I've made a document with that fic around May last year. Originally it was supposed to be just a short, one-scene thing, but then I've stumbled upon the [Rare Pair Fest](https://1drarepairfest.tumblr.com/) and thought - why not? My conception for that fic was changing countless of times and i really hope it isn't showing. Or not too much, at least. I'm just... So happy to finally share it with y'all. Before I'll shut up, I want to thank my mum **Jules** for always supporting me and for remembering the Clover Guy even when I forgot.

Life had tons of rules, principles and laws. Some of them were good and made one’s life easier. Some of them made sense but nobody was willing to follow them. Others were absolutely senseless, although they worked pretty well. But there also was a whole lot of unspoken rules, ridiculous pseudo-laws, the ones that were simply absurd and were there only to piss people off. 

Zayn was never the one to pay that much attention to the rules of law but he probably was an expert of the last category. Sometimes Zayn thought that he was in some kind of government experiment to test every single one of the Murphy’s Laws.

Today, for example, Zayn had an important thing to do. A job interview to be precise. He found out that the tattoo parlour he’d visited a few times before was looking for a new employee. A helper at first, but in the long run they offered to break him in the job of a proper tattooist. It might take a while, but Zayn was ready to take a chance.

However, the Universe wasn’t supporting him in attempts to become a responsible, self-sufficient young adult.

There must had been a power cut in the middle of the night. Zayn wouldn’t even mind, he was asleep after all, but the lack of electricity meant that his phone battery was as dead as it was when he’d plugged his mobile in. Flat phone led to no alarm and no alarm was obviously followed by Zayn oversleeping. He had woken up exactly twenty three minutes before his bus was supposed to arrive. That was when Zayn decided to screw good first impression. Not that he had a choice. He tried to brush his teeth while simultaneously putting on a pair of jeans. It didn’t turn out to be the best idea since Zayn had stained his pants with toothpaste. He needed to change, so in the end, getting ready took him twice as much time as he wished it would.

Zayn made it to the stop just in time to jump onto the bus, almost being crushed by the already closing doors. His physical condition wasn't very good, to put it lightly, so he needed a few moments to catch his breath after the short run from his flat to the bus stop. 

Pretending that his lungs weren't burning and legs weren't shaking at all, Zayn looked around the bus in hope of finding a free seat. Of course he didn’t spot one. It wasn’t even the busiest time of the day; it was just the Universe hating Zayn with all it got. With a sigh, Zayn moved towards the guardrail. It would be inconvenient to fall over and the rapid braking of the bus usually made it pretty hard to keep balance.

However, before Zayn got there, he noticed something that made him freeze in the spot.

In front of Zayn, leaning against the rail, was a boy. That wasn’t the unusual thing, though. The boy looked very exhausted but still incredibly handsome. But that wasn’t the thing either. The thing that swept Zayn off his feet - well, not exactly, but he stumbled at the speed increase - was the fact that the boy had a  _ fucking clover  _ on the middle of his forehead.

Zayn blinked a few times and looked around the bus as if to check if anyone’s paying attention. However, people on the bus at 8am were just a bunch of zombies, so Zayn wasn’t worried or surprised that they did not. His eyes wandered back to the mysterious Clover Guy, wondering if he was just an imagination of his half-conscious brain. However, the guy - as well as his clover - was still there.

As Zayn had already noticed, the stranger was handsome. He was around Zayn’s height, slim, and had brown, very ruffled hair. His skin was pale with slightly redder cheeks, covered by small freckles and short stubble on his jaw. He had beautiful blue eyes and a… fucking black clover on his forehead. Zayn almost laughed out loud.

What stopped him from doing that were said beautiful eyes staring right back at him. Zayn had no idea how long the guy was looking at him. The stranger’s brow was arched up in a questioning gesture and his whole demeanour was quite unamused.

“Is everything ok?” the Clover Guy said. “It’s kinda rude to stare like that, ya know?”

And well. If this were a normal setting, Zayn’s knees would probably weakened a bit at the sound of that low, raspy tone. He’d probably take a moment to think about the heavy accent, so clear in in the Clover Guy’s voice. But this wasn’t a normal setting, where Zayn could do that. Especially not with all the bumps in the road, that made Zayn stumble and almost dive towards the guardrail to save himself from falling. After regaining his balance, he turned towards the stranger and shook his head.

“No, sorry. ‘S just…” Zayn made a vague gesture towards the guy’s face, but that only made the latter’s eyebrow to go higher.

With a giggle escaping his mouth, Zayn had finally said, “You have a big-ass clover on your forehead, mate.”

“No, I do not,” the Clover Guy said confidently, looking at Zayn like  _ Zayn  _ was the silly one here.

Zayn opened his mouth and closed it almost immediately, a bit caught off guard. Shaking his head, he laughed, fishing his phone from his pocket.

“I’m pretty sure you do. Look.”

Zayn opened the camera, switching it to selfie mode and turned the screen towards the stranger. The Clover Guy squinted at him, before looking down at the phone.

“Huh,” he moved his face closer to the mobile. “That is not a clover.”

Raising his eyebrow at that, Zayn said, “Well, you’re not gonna convince me it’s a freckle.”

The guy chuckled and Zayn couldn’t stop a smile and that warm feeling of pride that he managed to make the Clover Guy laugh. Despite everything, he was still hot. And cute.

“That’s a shamrock. There’s a difference,” the stranger said. But after getting a confused look from Zayn, he added, “I’m Irish.”

The look on his face and the tone of his voice suggested that it should explained everything.

It did not.

“Well congrats, mate. I don’t see a correlation but good for you, I guess.”

The Clover Guy glanced at Zayn’s phone again and after a second he bursted into laughing.

“Fuck, I look like an idiot,” he managed to say eventually.

“No… That’s just…” Zayn tried to be polite, but he gave up pretty easily. “Yeah, you look like an idiot.”

An offended noise escaped the Clover Guy’s mouth as he clasped a hand over his heart. He was not capable of keeping that facade for too long, because he broke into giggles shortly after.

“I’m going to fucking kill Louis. That bastard. Man can’t get any sleep when he’s around cause they’d end up with drawings all over them-”

The stranger had continued his grumping but Zayn stopped paying attention. Partially, because the Clover Guy seemed like he was babbling to himself and partially because Zayn had no idea what or who he was talking about. Apparently there was some Louis involved, but also not quite, since the drawing was too neat to be said Louis’ work. Which could only meant that the clover - scratch that - the shamrock was some Henry’s fault. Zayn didn’t really care.

To be honest, Zayn’s brain didn’t seem to work properly. He had to bite the inside of his cheek not to laugh out loud. The urge to pinch himself was raising with every passing second. It was quite hard to believe that any of it was real. At this point Zayn was sure that he’d overslept again and that he’s going to wake up in his bed any minute, late as fuck and washed-up.

“Oi, you’re staring again,” the Clover Guy’s voice shook Zayn out of his thoughts.

Zayn blinked a few times, focusing back on the man in front of him. This time he was more amused than pissed off at Zayn’s staring, though.

“Sorry. It’s just ridiculous.” 

“Yeah, I know, ma mates are fucking idiots,” the Clover Guy laughed.

“No, not that. Well, not only that.”

Encouraged by the other man’s questioning look and small smile still plastered to his face, Zayn elaborated, “I’m on my way to a job interview. I had an awful start of the day and like- On my way to catch a bus I was thinking that I’d appreciate some luck today for once. And then after getting in here, I saw a guy with a damn clov- shamrock,” Zayn corrected himself after getting a glare from the other guy, “on his forehead. Things like that happen only in fanfiction, man.”

Zayn shrugged, already regretting that confession he’d just made. His thoughts seemed to be much more stupid after he’d voiced them out.

The Clover Guy only grinned at him and waggled his eyebrows. Zayn’s regret grew even bigger, overshadowing his other feelings. He should had thought this better, talking had never lead him anywhere.

“This is destiny,” the Clover Guy said, grin still on its place. “I’m your lucky charm.”

He looked way too proud of himself and that eventually made Zayn chuckle as well. Maybe he didn’t mess this up completely.

“Where have you been my whole life then, huh?” Zayn asked, ignoring the fact that it sounded like a very bad, very cliche pick up line. “Haven’t got much luck to be honest.”

“Needed to make sure you deserved it,” the guy answered without missing a beat.

“Oh, so you’re a stalker?”

A smile was still plastered to Zayn’s face so he hoped that the Clover Guy won’t take it seriously. The latter tried to look offended but he failed rather quickly. And adorably, if you asked Zayn.

“Stop being mean to me or I’ll take my charm back!” the stranger warned.

“No, please don’t. I really want that job.”

The Clover Guy only smiled lightly at that. Zayn had to admit that his smile was a really nice thing to look at. The stranger opened his mouth to say something, but then he glanced through the window and the only thing that slipped out was a quiet “oh shit”.

“That’s my stop,” he explained, seeing Zayn’s questioning look. 

And well, Zayn might have forgotten that they were taking a bus in the first place. He looked around to make sure he hadn’t missed his own stop. In the meantime, the Clover Guy shifted closer to the door, his eyes fixed back on Zayn. 

“You're lucky you're cute. Otherwise, I really would have to take my charm back,” the Clover Guy smiled. He seemed a bit sheepish now, but maybe Zayn was just imagining things. “I'm Niall, by the way. Not sure if I've introduced myself properly. I'll keep my fingers crossed for you to get the job!”

And with that, he left the bus that had just stopped at the side of the street. Before the doors closed, Zayn caught a glimpse of the Clov-  _ Niall _ sending him a big grin and a thumbs-up. 

Zayn didn't want to admit how happy it made him.

 

The smile that appeared on Zayn’s face stayed there for the rest of his ride. When he finally got of the bus, he reached the tattoo parlour within 5 minutes. He took a long, deep breath before walking inside. Zayn realised that the Clover Guy was such a great distraction he didn't have time to actually panic and overthink things. Maybe that was how the charm worked?

Zayn entered the studio. It was a rather small one but every time he'd visited it as a customer, it was pretty crowded. He wasn't sure if it was because the crew and the great atmosphere or because it was the only tattoo parlour in the neighbourhood. The hour was still pretty early and technically the studio was closed, hence the lack of people when Zayn walked in. He looked around, scanning the dark red walls with vinyls and old-school posters hung on them. On his left there was a small counter, completely stocked with albums, loose sketches and photos of the tattoos made here. Zayn was pretty sure, that he could find pics of his own tattoos somewhere in that mess.

Before he stepped closer to the counter, Zayn was interrupted by loud noises coming from the back. He jumped, quickly turning around. There was a purpose of his visit there, Zayn reminded himself. Was he supposed to call the owner’s name? Or should he stay where he was and just wait? Or maybe go and knock on the back door?

Said door swung open just a second or two later, which saved Zayn from making that horribly difficult decision. The person who walked through the door, was a petite guy with messy hair and wicked grin on his face. Zayn recognised him. Every time he visited the studio, that guy was either there or just walking out. Zayn wasn't sure if he worked here or if he was just a regular. 

“Louis, I swear to God-” Zayn heard a voice, coming from the back. It was a bit muffled but he still recognised it as Liam’s, the owner. 

The other guy only shushed him, his eyes fixated on Zayn.

“The newbie’s here, you have to be nice to me, so you won't scare him.”

Zayn furrowed his brows. He felt offended. Maybe he was a newbie, but it was rude to address him like that. And also he wasn't a coward, what the hell, he'd easily handle that pixie-looking meanie, thank you very much. 

“I'm not-” Zayn started, wanting to defend his honour, but his words were interrupted by Liam, who just walked into the room.

“How very brave of you. Stop being an arse if you want me to be polite,” he sent the small guy a glare, before turning to Zayn with a smile. “Hi Zayn, I'm glad you're here cause I'm about to fire my only employee.”

A dramatic gasp escaped the Pixie’s mouth as he clasped a hand over his heart in an offended gesture. Liam hadn't even looked at him. Zayn smiled. 

“So there's only two of you?” Zayn asked. It was a bit surprising, but just a second ago he was convinced that Liam was the only person working here, so maybe not that much. 

“Yeah,” Liam nodded. “So far it seemed to be enough, but lately more people want to get inked. I thought that finding and teaching someone as a second tattooist would be a good idea. Louis there can't draw for shit, he's only a part-time secretary.”

“Okay, that's it,” the small guy said, loudly making his way to the door. “I refuse to listen to those defamations. I'm going to Harry.”

“Be good and try not to scare his customers away, Lou” Liam called after him, before the doors closed. 

Zayn only observed those two, slightly confused. That Louis guy seemed like a great pain in the ass and yet, Liam hadn't looked mad at him. Not for real. Actually, after Louis left, he only shook his head with something that looked a lot like fondness on his face. 

“He'd go anyway. He's a bit of a drama queen, you know,” Liam said, smiling. “He’s not as bad as he seems. But that's not the point, sorry, let's talk about the job, shall we?”

Liam gestured to the nearby sofa and after they sat down, but Liam didn’t  talk about the job for a solid half an hour. He was one of those wonderful people who knew how to make people around him feel comfortable and at ease. Like a puppy. Zayn liked puppies and maybe that’s why he was able to have a proper conversation with Liam without feeling like he was going to die. It was easy to forget that it was actually a job interview. They were chatting about music, their mutual love for comics, their friends. After just a few minutes, Zayn knew that Liam knew Louis for a few long years now, that Liam dropped out of uni after a month and became a tattooist instead, just like he always wanted, and that he was allergic to strawberries. 

Then, in the middle of the conversation, Liam straight up asked Zayn if he’s still interested in the job. Right after receiving a confirmation from - slightly caught off guard - Zayn, Liam explained all the technicalities of work, said what exactly would Zayn’s duties include and gave him a tour around the parlour. All this in about 15 minutes.

“Alright, I guess that’s it?” Liam said, walking Zayn to the door.

A small smile was still plastered to Liam’s face, but Zayn nervously stepped from one foot to the other.

“So… you’ll gonna call me? Or something?” he asked, unsure.

“Um… sure? But why?”

Liam’s confusion made Zayn confused as well. Should a job interview really go like this? “To tell me if I got the job or not.”

“Oh, you did! You’re right, I should’ve made it clearer,” Liam scratched the back of his neck, an apologetic look on his face. “To be honest, you were my only candidate. I haven’t mentioned to anyone else that I’m looking for someone, because you seemed to be just the right person.”

Of all things, Zayn didn’t expect that. He wasn’t sure whether he should start crying, give Liam a hug or just thank him politely. Eventually, he decided to settle on the latter. But then Liam spread his arms, saying “Welcome to the crew” and Zayn really couldn’t say no to that. 

A huge grin was still plastered to Zayn face, even long after he’d left the parlour.

 

After less than a month, Zayn knew that he's going to enjoy the job as unlike any of his previous ones. Liam was probably the nicest person Zayn had ever met, however he was always up for some banter, especially when Louis was around. Louis - who wasn't even a proper employee, as it turned out later - seemed to be a bit too much at first, but eventually he wasn't as much of a meanie as Zayn thought and they'd hit it off. He was working at the kindergarten and was just dropping by at the parlour whenever he could to help Liam out.

The job itself wasn't too hard for now. Zayn was helping Liam with the equipment, he was preparing the sketches for tattoos and some other stuff. For practise, Liam even let him use his body as a training area and Zayn had made him a small tattoo, a batman logo on Liam’s lower back. It looked a bit shaky and not perfect, but it was a start. It was nice to do something he liked, for once. 

Equally nice - and quite surprising - was the fact that Zayn had met the Clover Guy again.

There were moments when Zayn was thinking about him, about  _ Niall _ , but he really didn’t expect to see him again. It was a pity, since Niall seemed like a nice lad and even a clover on his forehead wasn’t able to ruin that impression. And he was very handsome, which always was an advantage. But Zayn couldn’t do much about it, Manchester was a pretty big city after all.

So when he’d seen him again on an ordinary Wednesday morning, Zayn was incredibly surprised.

 

Getting off of the bus, Zayn cursed under his breath, wrapping his jacket tighter around himself. He might love his new job, but getting up early wasn't his favourite thing to do and nothing could change that. Not even the bright sunlight, now only hurting his sleep-deprived eyes. With a sigh, Zayn hid his hands in his pockets and rounded the corner. He really wasn't a morning person.

Trying to get to the parlour as quickly as possible, Zayn wasn't really paying attention to his surroundings. He hadn't had the time to fix himself a cup of coffee earlier, so the only thing he could think about was getting a nice and warm cup of coffee from that fancy coffee maker they had in the studio. It was a very nice thought. Almost nice enough for Zayn not to notice someone quietly singing nearby. He looked around and stopped after seeing a familiar figure.

There was that small niche in the wall of buildings. In it, a bit further away from the street, there was a small shop, easy to miss if someone didn't know it was there. It was built from simple red brick, which made it blend with the rest of the neighbourhood. A bit faded sign above the door said “Pots & Planters.” It looked like taken out straight from an old photograph and Zayn was endeared. But the thing that made Zayn smile even more was the sight of Niall, bustling in front of the shop and placing outside some pots and vases full of various flowers. He was singing something under his breath and his cheeks were even redder and his hair messier than the last time Zayn saw him. 

“You sure you're not a stalker?” Zayn said and he regretted it the very second those words left his mouth. 

Apparently, the best way to flirt with an attractive stranger was to accuse him of being a creep. Zayn gave himself a mental pat. In the face. Or more like a smack, actually.

Slightly startled, Niall placed down the planter he was holding and turned around to face Zayn. At first his eyebrows were furrowed in confusion, but as soon as he saw Zayn a big smile lit up his face.

“I don't know what you are talking about, I work here so if anyone's being a stalker, that would be you,” Niall laughed.

“You… work here?” Zayn asked incredulously. His eyes wandered to the flower shop, with its simple, old-fashioned design and the colourful flowers and then back to Niall. He was watching Zayn with his head cooked to one side, a hint of smile still hiding in the corners of his mouth.

“Why are you so surprised?” Niall asked, leaning against one of the bigger pots and wiggling his eyebrows, “Do I not fit in?”

Just as he said that, the container wobbled threateningly under his weight. Letting out a quiet yelp, Niall managed to regain his balance and grab the pot before it hit the ground. After making sure that no damage had been done, he straightened, sending Zayn a sheepish smile.

“Surprisingly, you kind of do,” Zayn said, poorly containing a laugh. “But I meant… I work just across the street from here.”

“Oh really? How come i’ve never seen you here before?”

“I started a few weeks ago. Actually… when we’ve bumped into each other at the bus? I was going for an interview to the tattoo parlour over there.” Zayn said, pointing his thumb over his shoulder in the general direction of the studio.

A surprised smile appeared on Niall's face. He run a hand through his - already sticking up in every direction - hair. Yet somehow, it didn’t make him look bad at all, Zayn noticed. The messy hairstyle, combined with a soft-looking hoodie and a pair of round, black-framed glasses hooked over his collar, made him look very soft and cuddly.

“See? Told ya it’s destiny,” Niall grinned and sent Zayn a wink. “Liam never told me he was looking for someone, though.”

“You know Liam?” It was Zayn’s turn to be surprised.

“Yeah, I've been mates with Louis, his boyfriend, for what seems like forever now. And we all kinda get along.” Niall explained.

“You mean… They’re…? I didn’t know they were together,” Zayn stumbled.

Seeing his consternation, Niall sent him a funny look and scratched at his neck. 

“Well yeah, they're not too big on PDA and Lou tends to insult people he likes so it might be hard to tell sometimes,” Niall chuckled. “You're not one of those who have a problem with that, right?”

That would explain the look Niall sent him. He was worried about accidentally outing his friends to a stranger. Before he even finished that sentence, Zayn started to shake his head. 

“No, of course not! I'm… too. I mean me too- I mean. I'm not one of those, no.” Zayn managed to say eventually. 

It wasn't like he had a problem with his sexuality. But for some reason, the Clover Guy made the already difficult process of talking even more difficult. He just hoped that he wasn't blushing or it wasn't too visible, at least.

“That's good,” the grin was back in its place and Zayn found himself smiling as well. “Anyway, I hope I'll get to see more of you now, since you're working across the street?”

“I'm here to work, not to flirt with strangers,” Zayn answered. 

Niall chuckled at that and his cheeks seemed to be even more red, but maybe Zayn was imagining it.

“Well, you're doing a shite job at it right now,“ he said.

“At working or flirting?” Zayn asked and felt proud that he didn't stutter this time. 

The pride only grew bigger when Niall looked down at the ground after his words and when he raised his head again, Zayn was pretty sure he was blushing. 

“The former,” Niall answered eventually.

Zayn bit at his lower lip to contain a smile. It was nice to know that Niall didn't think his flirting was that bad, or at least was too polite to admit it. For a moment or two they just stood there, staring at each other, not saying anything. Then Zayn remember that he had a purpose in walking around in the cold morning. 

“Right. Speaking of work, I think I'm late already,” Zayn said, checking the time and scratching at his neck sheepishly. 

“Yeah, you'd better not get fired…,” Niall started and then sent Zayn a questioning look. “I still have no idea what your name is.”

“It's Zayn.”

“OK then, Zayn. We should both get to work, so go away,” Niall waved a hand at him, but he was smiling. “You can come back sometime. But not too often, stalker.”

 

And Zayn did. It wasn't on purpose of course. Just sometimes when he was walking to the studio and he saw Niall outside the flower shop, he stopped for a quick chat. Or when he decided that since he planned to buy a plant for his flat for ages, he could let Niall help him to pick a nice succulent, that Zayn won't kill too quickly. And if that required another wander to the store to buy a bigger pot and the special soil for succulents, it wasn't Zayn's fault. As well as the fact that flower store was a perfect place to sketch floral patterns. They were really popular and sometimes Zayn needed a bit of inspiration, so he wouldn't be drawing the same things over and over again. Luckily, Niall didn't mind.

Neither did Liam, which was quite surprising for Zayn. Seeing Zayn’s sketches always made his boss happy. As well as the fact that he and Niall knew each other. He might be less happy, knowing that Zayn’s excursions to the nearby shop passed mostly on chatting with Niall than on finding inspirations. But Niall was the one to blame for that. Niall and his ability to completely bring Zayn into the conversation. Niall and that bloody radiant smile of his that made Zayn want to see it every day.

 

“Isn’t that the same thing you drew yesterday?”

Zayn startled. He looked up and found Niall standing behind his chair, peeking over his shoulder. Hoping that his embarrassment wasn’t showing, Zayn scratched his neck.

“Nah, it’s just very similar. Wasn’t happy with the previous one,” Zayn mumbled. Niall didn’t have to know that Zayn was too distracted by him to draw anything new.

“Both looked aces to me,” Niall smiled, trying to place two mugs of tea on the small, cluttered table that stood in the corner of the shop where they always sat.

Shrugging, Zayn returned the gesture and closed his sketchbook. He wasn’t able to make use of it anyway. Just as he bent to put the book back into his bag, he sneezed, almost knocking his head against the table.

“Sorry,” he sniffed.

“‘S ok, bless you,” Niall said, sending Zayn a somewhat concerned look. “You sure you’re not sick?”

Zayn shook his head, “I don’t think so. I’ve been fine earlier, no idea why I’m sneezing so much in here.”

“You do it quite a lot, whenever you're around. Maybe you’re allergic to something here?” Niall suggested. When Zayn sent him a questioning look, he just shrugged and explained, “My granny was. Allergic to some plants or something I mean. My grandpa worked in the shop for about twenty years and she couldn’t spend more than five minutes here.”

Hearing this, Zayn found himself smiling.

“She still did, I assume?”

“Well, someone had to scold grandpa for leaving some weird weeds around the house or for being late for dinner again,” Niall chuckled, his face soft as he was talking about it. “They're amazing, really. When grandpa was too weak to take care of this place, they decided to go back to Ireland. Granny had to practically drag him from here by force. She was able to made it though, always has.”

With his chin rested on his palm, Zayn was listening to this, endeared. From the start he had a feeling that there was a story behind that tiny flower shop and Niall working here. At first he seemed not to fit into the picture, but as Zayn started to get to know him, Niall turned out to be blending in with the steadiness and charm of this place just as nicely.

And maybe Zayn liked it a bit too much.

He was just about to ask Niall about his home back in Ireland or to tell him about his own family or about the bookstore his great grandpa owned once and how it was Zayn’s dream to do something similar at some point. But instead, another sneeze jolted his body, making him spill the tea on the table.

“We can always hang out somewhere where you will be able to breathe more freely, you know?” Niall said with a half smile, handing Zayn a cloth.

As if Zayn was going to gave up on those visits just because of some stupid allergies.

 

“Zayno!” Louis yelled and draped himself over Zayn’s back. “We’re meeting tonight, right lad?”

A bit spaced-out, Zayn looked away from his phone and lifted his chin from the counter just the slightest bit so he could look at Louis. Regardless the fact that it was a Friday, it was a very lazy one. They didn’t have any clients scheduled for at least two next hours.

“I don-,” Zayn started but Liam interrupted him.

“How can Zayn be a lad after just a month while I’ve been trying to deserve the title for about six years and you still deny me it?” he asked with a raised eyebrow.

“I don’t deny you my sweet love. You’re either my boyfriend or a lad,” Louis sent his boyfriend an unimpressed look. “You can’t have everything, Liam.”

“Can I change my mind then?”

The offence was clear as day on Louis face, but Liam just laughed at that, plonking himself down on the couch. And Zayn was still confused, glancing from one man to the other. As usual, Liam was the one to save him.

“I actually forgot to tell you but we’re planning to go to a bar tonight, have a beer or two. And we were wondering if you wanted to come with us maybe?” Liam said.

“It’s not a matter of willingness, though, you’re coming.” Louis pointed out.

“But I’m… I’m not really a… party type,” Zayn tried to explain, sitting more upright as he tried to get rid of Louis, still plastered to his back.

To be honest, it felt nice. Zayn was flattered that they’d thought about him and maybe even really wanted Zayn to come. Although, social interactions had always been tiring him quickly enough and staying at home required way less effort.

“C’mon, it’s not a party, just a nice night-out. Besides, you’re basically part of the crew now, so you should finally meet Harry,” Liam smiled.

Harry the baker, Zayn thought. He was the boys’ friend and Zayn had heard about him quite a lot. He seemed like a nice guy, even with his “ridiculous habits and awful fucking taste” as Louis always said. Liam once called him an “hipster old-soul”. On one hand, Zayn wouldn’t mind meeting him but on the other, he sounded like a bit much.

Before he had the chance to answer, the front door swung open. When Zayn glanced in that direction, he couldn't stop a smile. 

“We're going out tonight, I'm feeling alright, gonna let it all hang out!” Niall sang instead of a greeting. He had a huge grin on his face and with a skip in his step, he moved closer to the counter. “Man, we haven't gone for a pint in so long! I'm excited.”

“You're always excited when there's alcohol involved, Neil,” Louis pointed out.

“You might have a point. But I'm also excited about Zayn joining us for the first time!”

Propping his elbows on the counter next to Zayn, Niall rested his chin on his hand and leaned towards Zayn with a smile. 

“Hi,” Zayn said dumbly. Louis sniggered somewhere behind his back.

“Hi.” Niall answered, grinning. 

The eye roll Louis did was so flaunty that Zayn was almost able to hear it. “OK, stop whatever you doing, weirdos. Zayn is plotting how to wriggle out of this.”

“I'm not-” Zayn started. His eyes skipped back to Niall for a second. He was clearly surprised, but not necessarily in the positive way, since his smile fell a bit. And that was the last thing Zayn wanted. To make Niall worry “I'm not, I was just… I just said that I'm not a party guy, but I'm glad you've invited me. I'll come.”

In answer to that, Louis raised his eyebrows at Zayn, sending him a weird look, but Niall only cheered and smiled warmly at him.

Zayn really hoped it was worth it.

 

About twenty minutes before 7 o’clock when they were supposed to meet, Zayn was quite convinced that it wasn't worth it. Or maybe, having a quiet night in with a TV series and a cup of tea under a blanket seemed more worthy. He was getting old.

Arriving at the bar, Zayn was quite happy to see that it wasn't too crowded. It wasn't empty either, it was a Friday evening after all, but on his way here Zayn’d seen worse. Noticing that he still had some time left, Zayn fished a pack of cigarettes from his pocket. He didn't like to be too early.

Zayn barely managed to lit it and take a first drag, when he heard his name being called by a familiar voice. He didn't really have to look to know who it was.

“Hi,” Zayn greeted.

“It's like… the fifth time I'm hearing it from you today,” Niall mocked with a smile. 

“Very funny,” Zayn tried to deadpan, the corners of his mouth twitching upwards though, “It wasn't that many times, don't exaggerate.”

Niall only shrugged, clearly not sorry at all. His eyes skipped from Zayn's mouth to the puff of smoke he let out. It was a bit weird, seeing Niall here. Seeing Niall in different setting than the flower shop or occasionally the studio, that Zayn got used to.

“Didn't know you smoke,” Niall said. 

“Don't tell my mum, she still doesn't know,” Zayn laughed. “I'm trying not to do it as often as I used to. You smoke?”

Niall only shook his head as an answer and did it again when Zayn offered to stub his cigarette, “Never seen anything exciting in it myself, but I don't mind, don't worry,” he said. “You've been inside? The boys are in already?”

Zayn only shrugged, finishing the fag, “Let's find out.”

As they walked inside, Niall led them to the second room, not even looking around. Zayn guessed it was because the crew had their usual sits in here. Once again, he felt like he was interfering. He tried to squash that feeling and push it to the back of his head, he was invited here after all. 

“Oi, look who's finally here!”

As usual, Zayn heard Louis before he was even able to see him. He, as well as Liam and a long-haired man with a wildly patterned shirt, who must be Harry, were seated in a nice booth in the far corner of the room. A smug grin was already plastered to Louis’ face and Zayn sighed in advance at whatever the other man was going to say. 

“I don't think I'm really surprised that you two arrived together. Did you make out in front of the pub, too?”

“We just thought that coming up with snarky comments for two separate occasions might tire you for a whole night,” Niall said smoothly, sliding into the booth across Louis.

A chuckle escaped Zayn's mouth, seeing the astonished look on Lou’s face. He tried not to be too thrilled at the thought of making out with Niall. It was a nice thought, but Zayn was a reasonable adult, not a teenager with a crush. Still hovering near the table and feeling only slightly awkward, Zayn caught Niall staring at him. When he noticed that Zayn was looking back, he smiled and patted the seat next to him. Shaking himself out of those weird thoughts, Zayn reciprocate the smile and sat down, trying to leave a reasonable amount of space between them. But not too much, of course, since he didn't want to make it weird.

“Oh, by the way. Zayn, this is Harry,” Liam said. His hand motioned towards the curly-haired man right in front of Louis’ face, interrupting a strange stare-fight Louis and Niall seemed to had.

“Hello, Zayn,” Harry said, his voice deep and slow. He extended a hand and Zayn shook it. “I've heard a lot about you and I'm really happy I've got to finally meet you. I always felt like there was another piece that our group was missing and from what the boys said, you fit just right.”

A bit dumbfounded, Zayn scratched at  his neck, not really sure how to react. “Um. That's… That's really nice, Harry, thank you. I was looking forward to meeting you, too.”

“We haven't even started drinking yet and Harry's going all airy-fairy, why does that always happen?” Louis sighed dramatically, getting a drawn-out “hey” from Harry. Nobody seemed offended for real, so Zayn guessed it was normal. “So I suggest that we work on that drinking part now and open those bottles I've bought for everyone, because I'm thoughtful like this.”

“You've bought one for yourself and walked away, while I had to buy and carry the rest myself, Lou,” Liam said in passing, as he started to open the bottles and handed everyone one.

“Maybe, but we come in a package, so it's like I've done it.”

“It's really not.”

 

And just like that the night flowed. Soon enough Zayn’s concern about being a liability were dissipated and he’d felt very welcomed, even by Harry. Or maybe especially Harry, who wrapped himself around Zayn at some point and started slurring about how them, artsy souls, should stick together. Zayn wasn’t sure how much of this was Harry and how much were the fancy drinks he was drinking, but it was nice. 

Harry was being cuddly, Liam was kind and civil as always while Louis was still just as vicious and Niall… Niall was Niall. Maybe a bit more distracting than usual. Or maybe it was just because of the novelty, the setting change, that had affected Zayn. Or the fact that Zayn had spent a whole night, sitting close, almost feeling the heat radiating from the body next to him, more aware of the glances and brief touches. Or maybe it was just the booze that made Zayn feel pleasantly tipsy. Either way, it was harder for Zayn to keep his mind away from diverting to what Louis had said when they came here. 

 

“I’m going for a smoke,” Zayn said to nobody in particular, sliding out of the booth. He smiled at Liam who nodded in acknowledgement and after taking his jacket from the back of the chair, he made his way to the door.

Rummaging through his pockets in search of the lighter, Zayn jumped, startled when someone approached him. To check who and why was crowding into his personal space, Zayn looked up. He wasn’t really expecting to see Niall.

“Thought you didn’t smoke?” Zayn raised his eyebrow.

“I don’t,” Niall confirmed with an one-arm shrug. “Just wanted to take a breath.”

“You OK?” Zayn asked, worry clear in his voice. He remembered how Niall had mentioned his claustrophobia once and wondered if everything was alright. The pub wasn’t the smallest place, but it did got pretty crowded in there as the night unfold, so maybe Niall wasn’t feeling his best?

“No, I’m- I’m fine,” Niall said. When he saw that Zayn was going to say something, he added with a soft laugh, “I really am. Just- Sneaked out to stay here with you for a bit.”

“Really? Why?”

Looking a bit sheepish, Niall scratched at the back of his neck, “Um. I just… I don’t really have a proper explanation.”

Not really getting what was happening, Zayn chuckled, an unlighted cigarette still in his hand.

“I don’t need a guard, yano?”

“Yeah, I know. I guess I just wanted to spend some time alone with you. And I certainly didn’t want to admit it,” Niall said.

“Louis would be delighted to make fun of us making out once more,” Zayn tried to sound casual but his heart was quite in a rush when he was saying that. 

Maybe there was something from a teenager with a crush in him.

“Wouldn’t mind that, really.”

Niall’s eyes skipped from Zayn’s lips and then back up. It was a very quick glance and Zayn was wondering if he didn’t make that up. Absentmindedly, he licked his lips that felt all perched all of sudden. This time Niall was more obvious, his look lingering a bit longer before he rectulantly focused on Zayn’s eyes again.

“Louis making fun or the making out part?” Zayn asked, just to make sure he was reading it all correctly.

“The latter,” Niall answered without missing a beat.

“That’s… groovy,” Zayn managed and smacked himself mentally for such a splendid word choice.

Niall raised his eyebrow at Zayn, before he started laughing, grabbing Zayn by the neck to guide him closer. Zayn didn’t have time to process what was happening, because he felt Niall’s lips pressing into his. Dropping a rumpled cigarette to the ground, Zayn threw his arm around Niall’s neck and kissed back, placing his free hand on the latter’s waist. Surprisingly, all those thoughts that were hunting him all evening quieted down instead of intensifying. Everything went silent, maybe except the quick pounding of his heart. The hair at the base of Niall’s neck were as soft as expected, his lips more chapped that Zayn thought, but the kiss was still wonderful. Niall slid his hands down Zayn’s body and eventually wrapped them around Zayn’s waist, pulling him closer as he bit at Zayn’s lower lip. Zayn didn’t mind at all.

What Zayn did mind, was a loud whistle followed by a familiar, obnoxious laugh. Niall pulled away from him and maybe Zayn would be embarrassed by the whine that escaped his mouth, if Niall hadn’t chuckled at that and pecked his lips once more.

“I fucking  _ knew _ you two were finally sucking face!”

Zayn didn’t have to open his eyes to guess what Louis’ expression was at this moment. With a sigh, he stepped away from Niall, unwrapping his fingers from where they were gripping at the latter’s shirt. Zayn was too buzzed with the kiss and the beers he had earlier to be properly embarrassed by being caught. And too happy with the fact that one of Niall’s arms was still wrapped around his middle.

“Get fucked, Lou,” Niall said with a grin, quite contradictory to his words.

“I can bet that one of you will be doing just that soon enough,” Louis bite back, looking awfully pleased with himself.

“You know what, I don’t want that cigarette anymore, we can head back,” Zayn suggested, looking at Niall.

“Sounds like a plan.”

  
  


It wasn't an ordinary thing for Zayn to be in a good mood on a Monday morning. Actually, it might had been his first time.

With a smile on his face, he pushed open the door to the flower shop, making the bell ring quietly. Niall lifted his head at the sound and his face lit up as soon as he spotted Zayn. It was good to know that he wasn't the only one feeling that bubbling feeling of happiness inside. Followed with Niall's bright eyes, Zayn moved closer to the counter.

“Hello,” Niall greeted, leaning slightly towards Zayn.

“Hi,” Zayn answered, forgetting for a moment what he wanted to say. “Um, I'd like to buy some flowers, actually.”

“Oh.” Niall straightened up, surprised. “You do?”

“Yeah. I'd like five of those small sunflowers over there?” Zayn said pointing at the vase behind Niall's back.

Nodding, Niall went to grab the flowers and ringed Zayn up. He was keeping the light chat going, but he didn't seem to be as happy as he was earlier.

“I got to go to work, but” Zayn started, feeling dumb all of sudden, “here. Those are for you.”

Furrowing his eyebrows at the flowers in Zayn’s hand and then at him, Niall finally started laughing, taking the bouquet Zayn handed him.

“You're so stupid,” he said. “That’s so cheesy and like… not really romantic, you know?”

“Shut up, it’s not my fault you’re working in a flower shop,” Zayn pointed out. He bit at his lower lip and added. “Hopefully that part would be more romantic. I wanted to ask you if... you'd like to go for a dinner with me maybe? Tonight?”

“Depends,” Niall said with a sly smile, but his eyes were sparkling just like they did when Zayn first walked in.

“On what?”

“On whether I'd get a good morning kiss or not,” Niall explained, leaning forward over the counter.

“We can work on that,” Zayn answered with a poorly contained laughter in his voice and bent over to meet Niall in the middle.

 

Zayn was quite positive that since he had The Clover Guy in his life now, the luck won’t be leaving him any time soon.

**Author's Note:**

> feel free to hmu on [tumblr](http://flickerofziall.tumblr.com/) whenever you want


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